LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – On the first full day of the winter meetings, Cubs team president Theo Epstein sat in the team’s suite with local reporters for nearly 30 minutes discussing what his team has done thus far this offseason and what more can be expected.

It was a surprisingly quiet kickoff to the annual gathering of the baseball world, but there was no shortage of topics to touch on. Epstein began with the team’s pursuit of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, who eventually signed with the Los Angeles Angels. The Cubs made the two-way player’s final seven, but couldn’t overcome the long odds in the end.

“It was a real unique process,” Epstein said. “Actually, a really rewarding process because so many people in the organization worked so hard to try and put us in a position to land an impact player. I’m proud of what we did. I wouldn’t change anything about the process, except the result.”